Well, my plan is for the first attempts towards it to be made in the 70s, stagnate for some times and followed up on in the 1990s and '00s when an energy crisis hits*. Essentially we'd get to 1976 with a small moonbase, and a couple power satellites in orbit that power a couple downs.

* I'm thinking no 1970s energy crises in this world to make it *really* different

February 15th, 1971: Elvis Presley gives his final concert in Nashville. For publicity, no audio recordings or films our made--tickets sell out in hours.

December 1st, 1971: Elvis Presley announces he will be running as a independent for the US House of Represenatives, in Tennessees 8th district, on a platform of combating drugs, achohol. He gains the endorsement of former VP and Ambassador Richard Nixon.

November 7th, 1972: Elvis Presley defeats Republican Dan Kuykendall, and a minor Democratic challenger to be elected to the US House.

OOC: Elvis Presley as an AIP guy who leads to a 3-party america? Sure, why not? I'm thinking we have a libertarian-conservative GOP, a christopathic AIP and a (less moderate) liberal democratic party.

November to December 1969: The legislatures of Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Kentucky, tennesee and oddly enough New York pass the 26th amendment. So far, 13 states have passed it.

December 8, 1969: The Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act fails in congress, due to moderate and conservative percetions of it over-reaching.(This TL's version of the act would have looked more like 80s to '00s anti-smoking initiatives)

December 15, 1969: Idaho's legislature passes the 26th amendment.

January 5, 1970: Maryland, Delaware, Indiana, Missouri and Utah all pass the 26th amendment. The number of states passing it is now up to 19. Public polls during this time show that 78-82% of the population still supports it

February 11, 1970: A little-known band named Black Sabbath's album is rejected by the record company on grounds of being too "Aggressive".

April 1, 1970: Cuban president Fidel Castro assasinated using exploding cigars. Even before the body has cooled, there is a power struggle between Castro's brother and more doctrinaire communists

April, 21 1970: Apollo 13 successfully lands on the moon.

May 2, 1970: The CIA starts funneling men, weapons and operatives into Cuba in order to fund an anti-Castro revolution.

August 22, 1970: The ongoing power struggle in cuba turns into outright civil war, with Raul Castro's assasination.

November 3, 1970: Jorge Allesandri elected president of Chile once again. When news of the election hits the street, left-wingers in Chile riot.

November 4, 1970 to December 21, 1972: ("El Sangre") Following the defeat of Allende, left-wing guerillas terrorize urban Chile. They put down by a bipartisan military crackdown.

February 22, 1971: Gustavo Arcos takes power in Cuba and promises free elections and requests US help.

March 12, 1971: The first US advisors end up in Cuba. Unlike Vietnam, where the advisors were the precursor to outright involvement, these advisors mainly confine themselves to helping arm an ongoing counter-revolution.

September 18, 1971: Free elections held in cuba. The Liberal Party of Cuba, The Partido Orthodoxo and the Partido Autentico have most of the seats. Those socialists/communists who accept the new regime enough to vote or are not in jail vote for the Cuban Democratic party. President Arcos remains in power, but as a non-partisan candidate.

September 21, 1971: The United States congress votes to end the cuban embargo and return to free trade policies. President Reagan visits Havana and shakes hands with Cuba's leader.

May 2, 1972: The Supreme Court of the United States votes 5–4 not to hear a case by Jane Roe citing "political timing" as the reason for not hearing it. They even deny the case certification.

October 10, 1972: In Baker V. Nelson, the supreme court of the United states rules in Favor of Baker. However, they do not go far enough votes 5-4 to strike down sodomy laws citing strong privacy laws. and ban the government from discriminating against homosexuals in employment.

January 23rd, 1968: Pueblo Incident-A small squad of North Korean gunboats attempt to capture the USS Peublo. The ship manages to escape without damage, though a sailor aboard is injured.

January 30th, 1968: Tet Offensive begins.

January 31st, 1968: The US embassy in Saigon is attacked by the Vietcong. Ambassador Bunker is killed in the attack. President Johnson names Graham Martin to the post.

March 1968: "Unknown Soldier" is released as a single.

April 4th, 1968: Martin Luther King Junior. is uninjured in a assassination attempt at the Loraine Hotel, in Memphis. A young follower, Jesse Jackson, is wounded.

April 4th, 1968- 2001 A Space Odyssey premieres. It becomes the number one movie of 1968.

May 10th, 1968: The Doores perform at the Chicago Collisseum. Reaching the height of their popularity, the crowd is in a state of frenzy and the police are forced to intervene. Among songs performed are "Unkown Soldier" and the twenty-minute "Celebration of the Lizard". Both are soon to be released on album.

June 1968: "Hello, I Love You" is released as a single. It will soon be released on the Doors' next album "Waiting for the Sun". While it will not become the number one hit single, it will do moderately well.

June 5th, 1968: Robert Kennedy wins the California Democratic primary. Moments later, shots ring out in the Kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel. A bullet grazes Kennedy's head, but does not severly injure him. Two bystanders die from wounds sustained.

July 11th, 1968: The Doors release "Waiting for the Sun", their third studio album. On its B side is the rock epic "Celebration of the Lizard". Songs on the A side include "Hello I Love You", "Five to One", and "Unknown Soldier".

August 5th, 1968: On the second ballot, California Governor Ronald Reagan is nominated by the Republican Party, after Strom Thurmond hit a deal with him.

August 6th 1968: "Unknown Soldier", a single that has been performing poorly, but has been kept on the market, sees, like other songs against war or in protest, a rise in popularity the day after Governor Reagan wins the Republican nomination.

April 8th, 1968: US troops withdrawl from Khe Sahn, the first major defeat for the US military in the war.

August 11th, 1968: "Unknown Soldier" reaches #5 on the charts, its peak in popularity for one week before it disappears. Nevertheless, it has earned its place in the Doors' Greatest HIts.

August 19th, 1968: Popular Detroit shock band "The Stooges" are signed to electra records. Their first album is scheduled for realse in 1969.

August 20th, 1968: Soviet, East German, Polish, Hungarian, and Bulgarian forces invade Czechoslovakia, as a result of the "Prague Spring".

August 30th, 1968- Eugene McCarthy announces his run as a third party canidate under the "Peace and Freedom Party" Banner

October 1st, 1968: George Wallace endorses Ronald Reagan for President, and ends his third party campaign.

October 3rd, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr. is tapped to be Eugene McCarthys running mate. He accepts.

October 15th 1968- NBC airs the one and only debate held for the 1968 Presidential Election. It includes only Governor Reagan and Senator Kennedy.

November 6th 1968- One of the closest elections in history occurs. The night is a long one for all three men, Reagan jumps to an early lead due to McCarthy splitting the Liberal vote and winning DC and Minnesota.

The first TV network to declare a winner was ABC who called the race for Reagan. The third place network used the league of women voters to compile votes. NBC was the second network to declare, but had Kennedy winning. CBS stayed Neutral until the next day.

November 7th 1968- The winner was declared at 3:00 eastern time when Reagan was declared the winner after winning Wisconsin and Ohio, the two closest states.

Reagan/Rhodes- 283Kennedy/Yarbourgh- 248McCarthy/King- 7

In his Victory speech, Reagan pledged to bring the country together. He also reached out to Senator Kennedy, hoping to work with him in the future.

Senator Kennedy was grateful at the loss, but was angry at McCarthy. "Senator McCarthy has spoiled the election." He pledged to work with President Reagan in the future.

ABC News gained viewers thanks to the call for Reagan, while NBC lost ground due to the bad call. This began to shift the network news ratings.

February 2nd, 1969: A Czech student sets himself on fire to protest the Soviet occupation of his nation.

February 5th 1969- A huge Oil spill occurs off the Santa Barbara coast near California.

March 15th, 1969: Ambassador Richard Nixon is uninjured in an ambush by Vietcong fighters.

March 21, 1969 Senator Strom Thurmond proposes the 26th amendment. This amendmen forbids busing, any form of anti-discrimination laws or any form of racial quotas.

May 1, 1969 Polls show that over 82% of americans support the amendment.

May 5, 1969 President Reagan gives an impassioned speech calling for the 26th Amendment

May 28, 1969 The house of representatives votes on the amendment with a narrow margin. It is now up for the senate.

June 14, 1969 The 26th amendment narrowly passes the senate and is now up for states to ratify it..

July 4th, 1969: Alabama is the first state to pass the 26th amendment.

July 18, 1969: In a shocking turn of events, Massachusetts' legislature passes the 26th amendment by one vote. Pundits theorize that an ongoing riot and citizen concerns with bushing may have been what prompted this shocking turn of events.

July 20th, 1969: Apollo 11th results in sucess, with Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Neil Armstrong walking on the Moon.

July 21, 1969: President Ronald Reagan addresses the nation about Apollo 11 and promises to have a lunar base and multiple orbital solar power sattelites in operation by 1976.

July 22-29 1969: Steven Hawking, Arthur C. Clarke, Peter Glaser and William C. Brown appear in front of congress to speak about the feasibility of orbital solar power and propose methods for achieving it. This goes over well, except for the case of Sen. Proxmire(D-WI) who goes into a loud screaming rant for two hours and drops dead from a heart attack on the spot.

August 5th 1969- The Stooges, the debut album of the Detroit shock band is released. Their single "No Fun" makes it to Number 5 in the Billboard top 100, while "I wanna be your dog" makes it to number 25. The album sells a million copies.

August 16, 1969: Oklahoma and Missisipi's legislatures both vote to pass the 26th amendment on the same day.

August 17, 1969: Category 5 Hurricane Cora, the most powerful tropical cyclonic system at landfall in history, hits New Orleans, killing 1,500 people and causing US$20.5 billion in damage

August 18, 1969: President Reagan addresses the nation at New Orleans, vowing to fix the damage.

August 23, 1969: Elvis Presley has a non-fatal heart attack, and is brought to the doctor by one of his friends. The doctor gives Presley an ultimatum: Change his lifestyle or die within a decade.

August 22 to september 12 1969:(Argentine Spring) Protestors in argentina force the militiary government out of power.

August 26, 1969: Eva and Juan Peron executed on orders of a military tribunal. This increases rioting and unrest once the news is public.

September 1st, 1969: A coup by Colonel Qaddafi fails in Libya. He flees to East Germany.

September 12, 1969: Leopoldo Galtieri is found dead by his own hand. His lesser-ranking subordinate surrenders to the democratic protestors.

October 1, 1969: Free elections held in Argentina. Pro-democracy parties have majorities. but there are visible splits

November to December 1969: The legislatures of Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Kentucky, tennesee and oddly enough New York pass the 26th amendment. So far, 13 states have passed it.

December 8, 1969: The Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act fails in congress, due to moderate and conservative percetions of it over-reaching.(This TL's version of the act would have looked more like 80s to '00s anti-smoking initiatives)

January 5, 1970: Maryland, Delaware, Indiana, Missouri and Utah all pass the 26th amendment. The number of states passing it is now up to 19. Public polls during this time show that 78-82% of the population still supports it

February 11, 1970: A little-known band named Black Sabbath's album is rejected by the record company on grounds of being too "Aggressive".

April 1, 1970: Cuban president Fidel Castro assasinated using exploding cigars. Even before the body has cooled, there is a power struggle between Castro's brother and more doctrinaire communists

April 13th, 1970: Elvis Presley leaves rehabilitation, and makes his first public appearence in Memphis.

April, 21 1970: Apollo 13 successfully lands on the moon.

May 2, 1970: The CIA starts funneling men, weapons and operatives into Cuba in order to fund an anti-Castro revolution.

August 22, 1970: The ongoing power struggle in cuba turns into outright civil war, with Raul Castro's assasination.

November 3, 1970: Jorge Allesandri elected president of Chile once again. When news of the election hits the street, left-wingers in Chile riot.

November 4, 1970 to December 21, 1972: ("El Sangre") Following the defeat of Allende, left-wing guerillas terrorize urban Chile. They put down by a bipartisan military crackdown.

February 15th, 1971: Elvis Presley gives his final concert in Nashville. For publicity, no audio recordings or films our made--tickets sell out in hours.

February 22, 1971: Gustavo Arcos takes power in Cuba and promises free elections and requests US help.

March 12, 1971: The first US advisors end up in Cuba. Unlike Vietnam, where the advisors were the precursor to outright involvement, these advisors mainly confine themselves to helping arm an ongoing counter-revolution.

September 18, 1971: Free elections held in cuba. The Liberal Party of Cuba, The Partido Orthodoxo and the Partido Autentico have most of the seats. Those socialists/communists who accept the new regime enough to vote or are not in jail vote for the Cuban Democratic party. President Arcos remains in power, but as a non-partisan candidate.

September 21, 1971: The United States congress votes to end the cuban embargo and return to free trade policies. President Reagan visits Havana and shakes hands with Cuba's leader.

December 1st, 1971: Elvis Presley announces he will be running as an independent for the US House of Represenatives, in Tennessees 8th district, on a platform of combating drugs, achohol. He gains the endorsement of former VP and Ambassador Richard Nixon.

1972

May 2, 1972: The Supreme Court of the United States votes 5–4 not to hear a case by Jane Roe citing "political timing" as the reason for not hearing it. They even deny the case certification.

October 10, 1972: In Baker V. Nelson, the supreme court of the United states rules in Favor of Baker. However, they do not go far enough votes 5-4 to strike down sodomy laws citing strong privacy laws. and ban the government from discriminating against homosexuals in employment.

November 7th, 1972: Elvis Presley defeats Republican Dan Kuykendall, and a minor Democratic challenger to be elected to the US House.

Here's some events to show that being President in an unstable time isn't doing wonders for Reagan's mental health.

March 2, 1969: Following a public appearence at a pro-vietnam rally and having to deal with protestors, upon returning to the white house a despondent Ronald Reagan takes out a bottle of whiskey and drinks a few shots as a nightcap.

Juny 30, 1969: "Really, queen bees? What's the worst they can do? Slap us with their purses? Haha!" -- President ronald Reagan in a press conference regarding the stonewall riots.

July 1 to July 8, 1969: There are large protests in San Francisco, Fire Island and Boston over Reagan's insensitive remarks. The San Francisco one turns violent with 5 injured and one officer dead.

August 18, 1969: Ronald Reagan confides to Ambassador Nixon that "He thought the presidency would be easier than this", and the two share a bottle of Jack Daniels while swapping stories.

September 2, 1969: Ronald and Nancy Reagan get into an argument over Ronald Reagan's emotional instability of late and his taking up drinking. This is the first of several such.

October 3, 1969: Ronald Reagan agrees to see a psychiatrist about it, but only on condition that it be kept secret from the press.

October 14, 1969: Following a meeting with a psychiatrist who promises to keep it confidential, Ronald Reagan starts putting his ideas down on paper in the evenings or when else he has free time. By the end of October he has 250 pages of text, diagrams and little drawings.

November 2, 1969: Nancy Reagan brings a collection of herbs that she ordered from Brazil and makes a tea for Reagan...

September 1st, 1969: A coup by Colonel Qaddafi fails in Libya. He flees to East Germany.

Many analysts were shocked at the failure of Colonel Qaddafi's coup. The Libyan kingdom was autocratic and unpopular, having been seen as little more than a British client-state. The Six-Day War provoked a strong Arab nationalist response and numerous riots at Western targets. King Idris was so isolated from his population that he "left" Libya in June 1969 for medical treatment and handed Libya over to Crown Prince Hasan ar Rida. Certainly Colonel Qaddafi must have succeeded in his coup. ...Right?

Hasan ar Rida would later claim to President Reagan that it was due to the power of his secret police that prevented this coup, but other people were...dubious. Conspiracy theories still persist today that Qaddafi was betrayed by his own supporters, who feared that he may pose a threat to their political power.

October 1st, 1969: A second coup by Colonel Qaddafi fails in Libya. Colonel Qaddafi was killed in this coup attempt, putting an end to rumors of a possible third coup attempt. However, this coup did succeed in freeing many political prisoners including Mahmud Sulayman al-Maghribi, a Libyan dissenter who was arrested in 1967 for protesting against foreign ownership of Libyan oil. This led to fears in the Western media about instability in Libya.

October 2nd, 1969: As Libya is a oil producer, there is fear that repeated unrest in Libya could lead to an oil crisis that could raise oil prices through the roofs. President Reagan secretly met with Crown Prince Hasan ar Rida, promising US military assistance to defend his regime so long as he accept democratic reforms to his administration and repeal a 1952 ban on political parties and renew a lease on US Wheelus Airbase. Hasan ar Rida was equivocal about support, concerned that becoming even more of a Western puppet would harm the regime in the long term. That, and he really liked that 1952 ban.

He instead turned to Egypt, viewing it as a major military power with Arab Nationalist credentials. Hasan ar Rida believed that reinvention into an radical could prolong his regime's existence and buy it time. Egypt was equivocal about providing support however, viewing Hasan ar Rida as a potential liability who will be killed at any possible moment.

October 3rd, 1969: Crown Prince Hasan ar Rida was assassinated in a coup attempt led by Mahmud Sulayman al-Maghribi. This coup was finally a success, and al-Maghribi appointed himself Prime Minister of a new Revolutionary regime. Colonel Qaddafi became a national hero for launching the two-month-long "Libyan Revolution".

October 5th, 1969: The United States and Britian, concerned about the radical nationalization policies that al-Maghribi proposed, drew up plans for a military intervention to restore the Libyan monarchy. This plan was called OPERATION DELTA.

October 10th, 1969: Operation Delta was shelved when it was pointed out that said military intervention would possibly cause the very oil crisis they wanted to avoid. The United States and Britain recognized the new revolutionary Libyan regime.

June 11, 1970: United States finally leave US Wheelus Airbase, saying good riddance to such a horrible country.